What does a first time mother need?

I love registries...especially for Baby Showers. I don't have a chid and thus have NO idea what to get.

Baby Shower, but no registry. Who does that these days???

What does a mom-to-be need? I'm sure diapers, but what else? I thought about a gender neutral baby blanket (they don''t know the sex either) but am feeling too lazy to do that.

So TFP parents, what did you find to be super useful?

 

Diapers, cleaning supplies, powder, Xanax... Swaddling blankets are a good idea. Stroller, car-seat. Bigger items I'd try to find out who else is coming and make sure A) someone is getting them, and B) only one of each. You can also pool resources for those.

( Ask her mom if nothing else. She might know what's needed, and not yet obtained. I'm a dude, so I'd just ask for Jack Daniel's and a cigar )

 

Top of the list, off the top of my head, is an Angelcare Baby Monitor. Along with the normal sound monitor, it has a motion sensor--sensitive enough to pick up bambino's breathing and heartbeat through his mattress--that sets off an alarm if it detects no movement for thirty seconds.
I second swaddling blankets. You may be surprised at how many parents go through, and at their penchant for disappearing. New parents' homes tend to become Bermuda-triangle-esque vortices where things just kinda....vanish. Poof.
A wipe warmer is kinda cool, though many folks don't see it as a necessity.
If Momma isn't planning on nursing, a bottle of her favourite rum/vodka/drink of choice. Half gag gift, half necessity.
If Momma is planning to nurse, lanolin. And a Boppy pillow.
Mrs Moose sez gift cards to restaurants. Ideally those that deliver, but carry-out is good, too, especially if you can convince someone to bring it to you.

 

Wait until the kid is born, then buy an outfit for when they're 1 or so. They're going to get a lot of newborn stuff that the kid will outgrow almost instantly.

 

A&D ointment for baby's first tatt--er, I mean, for irritation and diaper rash sort of stuff. Coconut oil for dry skin. It's shelf-stable, solid at room temp (melts at around 73 degrees F), better than a lot of baby lotions that the stores are pushing, and makes for a damn fine massage oil if the parents can steal away for some grown-up time.
And, just like everyone has said and will say, ONESIES. Onesies=good. But here's what a lot of people won't tell you/them. Get some solid-colored onesies, so when (not if--when) they get stained, you can tie-dye them, then no one will know the difference.

 

When I attend baby showers, I give 2 gifts, neither necessarily "useful", but loving and soft. One might be a soft doll for the baby, and the other would be something I chose especially for the mom. Dont forget the mom.

 

Sleep. And you won't get it. Neither will the dad-to-be.

 

A lot of Moms get tonnes of baby stuff, but nobody gets them anything.

My wife usually buys an outfit for the baby, I always get a gift basket with stuff for Mom to relax or at the very least - time at the spa and the promise of babysitting during her time there.

 

I love grabbing a toy doctor's kit and filling it full of first aid type stuff - - baby Tylenol, teething stuff, Boudreaux's ButtPaste, baby gas stuff, nose sucker, nail clippers, thermometer, etc. It's funny to see them open it and realize all the stuff they're not prepared for...

 

"nose sucker" - holy crap, I'd forgotten about those. Don't ask parents what they have to do before they figure out they should own one.

 

We always called it the dreaded brain-sucker.
Recently found a product that works a damn sight better than the bulb syringe. They call it the Nosefrida ( NoseFrida the Snot Sucker! | FridaBaby )
Once you realize that you are not, in fact, going to suck the kid's snot up through the tube into your own mouth, it's kinda great. And you can break it down and wash it out, so there's no mold or bacterial growth up inside the sucker.

 

In my experience, Triple Paste is better. YRMV

 

Receiving blankets. I used them like crazy - I thought they worked best for swaddling, but they're great for impromptu burp cloths and for other mess management. They also are a good barrier between baby and public changing tables, etc. I always kept one in my diaper bags and in my car.

 

We found large cotton wraps really good - something like these:
Muslin Wraps

Watching a midwife friend of ours wrap baby spindles for bed was quite the eye opener - tightly wrapped so he couldn't move

A lot of wraps aren't big enough, so if you go this path, get something decent sized!

 

You will need less than you probably think. We got a ton of equipment and used very little of it.

Really, just ask for diapers. They are expensive and you'll need a shitload (literally) of them. Everything else you can buy on a need basis.

 

Valium, Xanax, and a really good support system of friends and helpers.